There was cross-party support for the Save General Election Night campaign that was set up in September 2009 when it looked like some councils were not going to count on the same day as polling. Particularly prominent were Mark Pack of the LibDemVoice, a Yes2AV supporter and Jack Straw, who backed legislation to make sure the results came through on the night, also a supporter of AV. Pack wrote:
“The drama of election night is one of the rare occasions when a mass public audience gets interested in the details of politics and hears news and information at more than nano-soundbite length.”
Given the pious storm of self-righteousness the Yes campaign have whipped themselves into denying that counting machines would be needed if we switch to AV, perhaps they could explain how the UK would still have a General Election night if they weren’t used? When LibDems supporters of AV say “there are no plans to bring in computers” remember they said they had no plans to bring in a VAT hike etc. Under FPTP the results take long enough to count as it is, without giving the voters who backed losers a second go. Perhaps Mr Pack, and the Straws etc would care to either chose between the election night loved by millions, or AV?
Or simply concede the obvious – that expensive counting computers would be needed…
UPDATE : The Speccie have a scoop on the milllion quid donation from ERS to the “Yes to AV” campaign, ERS is funded by ERS Ltd which, errm, runs electronic voting systems. What does the ERS say about electronic voting? It is the future appparently they say because:
- It encourages electoral participation, especially among the young, who are by far the group least likely to vote.
- Voting online can include better links between the vote and the information on which a vote should be based, thus leading to more informed decisions.
- By logging all votes electronically, the counting process is carried out more-or-less instantly.
So it looks like Yes to £250 million (and the rest) of electronic voting machines run by ERS Ltd…